DWSRF and Capacity Building in Action-Advancing Water Equity

Introduction: Interest in desalination is high in California, where increasing populations and limitations to existing water supplies have spurred development of alternative sources derived from seawater desalination and reclamation of wastewater and groundwater. A few seawater desalination facilities are currently in operation in California (Table 1-1), but proposals for over 20 additional coastal facilities are under consideration (Cooley et al. 2006) with a potential total capacity approaching 500 mgd in 2030 (Bleninger and Jirka 2010). These include plants in Carlsbad, Camp Pendleton, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Long Beach, El Segundo, Playa Del Rey, Oceano, Cambria, Marina, Sand City, Ocean View Plaza, Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, Montara, San Rafael, East Bay, and Crockett, with the largest of these proposed plants located in Southern California. The development and operation of these additional facilities will greatly increase the amount of desalination capacity and associated concentrate production in California.